
SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON QUARTERLY
7
duced a luxuriant growth of verdure. There were no loathsome swamps nor
barren deserts. Graceful shrubs and delicate flowers greeted the eye at
every turn. The heights were crowned with trees more majestic than any
that now exist. The air, untainted by foul miasma, was clear and healthful.
The entire landscape outvied in beauty the decorated grounds of the proud-
est palace. The angelic host viewed the scene with delight, and rejoiced
at the wonderful works of God."—"Patriarchs
and Prophets," page 44.
2.
"Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam, signifying
that she was not to control him, as the head, nor to be trampled under his
feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, to be loved and
protected by him. A part of man, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh,
she was his second self ; showing the- close union and the affectionate at-
tachment that should exist in this relation. . . . God celebrated the first
marriage. Thus the institution has for its originator the Creator of the
universe. 'Marriage is honorable;' it was one of the first gifts of God to
man, and it is one of the two institutions that, after the fall, Adam brought
with him beyond the gates of Paradise. When the divine principles are
recognized and obeyed in this relation, marriage is a blessing ; it guards the
purity and happiness of the race, it provides for man's social needs, it ele-
vates the physical, the intellectual, and the moral nature."—Id.,
page 46.
3.
"The home of our first parents was to be a pattern for other homes
as their children should go forth to occupy the earth. That home, beauti-
fied by the hand of God Himself, was not a gorgeous palace. Men, in their
pride, delight in magnificent and costly edifices, and glory in the works of
their own hands ; but God placed Adam in a garden. This was his dwelling.
The blue heavens were its dome ; the earth, with its delicate flowers and
carpet of living green, was its floor; and the leafy branches of the goodly
trees were its canopy. Its walls were hung with the most magnificent
adornings,— the handiwork of the great Master Artist.
-
In the surround-
ings of the holy pair was a lesson for all time,— that true happiness is
found, not in the indulgence of pride and luxury, but in communion with
God through His created works. If men would give less attention to the
artificial, and would cultivate greater simplicity, they would come far nearer
to answering the purpose of God in their creation. Pride and ambition are
never satisfied, but those who are truly wise will find substantial and ele-
vating pleasure in the sources of enjoyment that God has placed within the
reach of all."—
Id., pages 49, 50.
4.
"To the dwellers in Eden was committed the care of the garden, `to
dress it and to keep it.' Their occupation was not wearisome, but pleasant
and invigorating. God appointed labor as a blessing to man, to occupy his
mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. In mental and
physical activity, Adam found one of the highest pleasures of his holy ex-,
istence. /And when, as a result of his disobedience, he was driven from his
beautifdl home, and forced to struggle with a stubborn soil to gain his daily
bread, that very labor, although widely different from his pleasant occupa-
tion in the garden, was a safeguard against temptation, and a source of
happiness. Those who regard work as a curse, attended though it be with
weariness and pain, are cherishing an error. The rich often look down
with contempt upon the working classes ; but this is wholly at variance
with God's purpose in creating man. What are the possessions of even the
most wealthy, in comparison with the heritage given to the lordly Adam?
Yet Adam was not to be idle. Our Creator, who understands what is for
man's happiness, appointed Adam his work. The true joy of life is found
only by the working men and women. The angels are diligent workers ;
they are the ministers of God to the children of men. The Creator has pre-
pared no place for the stagnating practice of indolence."— Id.,
page 50.
5.
The original diet provided for such animals as the lion, the• tiger, the
vulture, and the serpent, seems to have been the same as for all others —
green herbs. In this connection, it is interesting to note that almost every
flesh-eating animal has been found to like some form of vegetable food,
even in preference to its usual flesh food. The anteaters, with their long